Stellar Master Elite
Hologram Temple

Stellar Master Elite is a rather great name for a band, especially when I read about how they are inspired by the questions surrounding advancements of technology but also Phillip K Dick and his thoughts about androids and so on, Blade Runner perhaps? Hologram Temple is a good title and the artwork for the fourth album of SME is rather exciting as well, this could be a great one is what I thought when I quickly glimpsed the text before downloading this promo. What could be and what is, is however not always in agreement and that is certainly true for Steller Master Elite and their most recent album.

The style is of the extreme metal variety, probably mostly black metal with some death metal touches as well. There are some interesting nods towards some great sci-fi, like Blade Runner but in general it is quite generic and doesn’t really stand out in that regard. The vocals are dull and mixed too far down amongst the instrument so they get to be some diffuse thing in the mix and one doesn’t really care about them in a short while, instrumental could have been better. The variation is not much, there is little but the songs melt together in a one-hour-long thing. Not really a good production and I come to think of the band Vader rather than anything about those sci-fi things I wrote about in the first paragraph when listening to this album.

This is where I write that it is as fun as something that isn’t really fun or as good as something that is quite bad just to illustrate in a humorous way that this album is far from impressive. But I cannot really think what to compare it with, toothache? Indigestion? Migraine? I think that it is as good as getting shot in the heel with an arrow. Fun completed, lets move towards the end. And the thing is that this album don’t really do anything for me and the recycling bin is probably the best place for it, changing the ones and zeroes that makes the files of this album into something better, perhaps another album.

If you do like black metal/death metal or the previous works of SME, there is a chance that you will find this one agreeable as well. I think it could work in those audiences but for the general music fan there is so many better choices out there and because of that it is a real waste to listen to this album. The conclusion is that it isn’t bad but dull and uninteresting compared with what else is out there; the truth is out there as they say and it is a better to look at one of those albums out there rather than at this one.

HHHHHHH